


Say Your Prayers Now

by aurons_fan



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Persona 5: The Royal, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28623900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurons_fan/pseuds/aurons_fan
Summary: Akira sees the strangest grouping from the Phantom Thieves while walking through Station Square and decides to check it out.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira
Kudos: 6





	Say Your Prayers Now

**Author's Note:**

> p5royal spoilers!!!
> 
> This story came about when I walked into the final semester’s palace in P5Royal and Akechi and Kasumi were level 75 (as the game gives you) and every other character was a 95 up. Legit Akechi and Kasumi were so weak compared to my main party when they finally showed up again that it was almost funny (until I was actually running around with them because DANG).
> 
> That and I feel like these lovely ladies deserved some justice.
> 
> (title from take over, aka the new battle theme, aka yes i am just going to use song lyrics for every title i ever write thank you)

On a normal day, Akira wouldn’t have noticed the group at all. Between ignoring Morgana whining for getting getting the tune he deserved and weaving to avoid the people walking through Shibuya’s Station Square, nothing really should’ve made him look up from his phone.

But today, Morgana had decided he was too tired from thinking about his life as a real person, and he didn’t _feel like_ being shoved into a bag all day. So it was a rare time that Akira was out and about in Shibuya alone.

It was the flash of the tan jacket that caught his eye. He glanced up from his phone only to stare in a mild shock.

Akechi stood, arms crossed and looking more annoyed than he normally would have looked public. But considering they were trapped in Maruki’s fucked-up experiment of the world, his permanent bitch face was only to be expected. Besides, no one seemed to pay any attention to the detective prince in all his pissed-off glory.

But to see Futaba, looking strangely somber, and Haru, looking a smidge nervous, alongside him? That was a sight that Akira never thought he’d see. Considering they barely seemed to want to acknowledge Akechi when they were planning Maruki’s palace infiltration while at Leblanc's, to see them all together was fairly shocking.

Or maybe it was just the start of something terrible.

If Morgana had been here, he would’ve had something snarky to say about how odd it was seeing the three of them together. After staring at them for a long time, Akira didn’t even realize he had walking over to the group until he approached them, hefting his bag over his shoulder.

He wasn’t even sure what he was going to say, because admitting “You all hanging out together is sus” was probably rude, but he didn't have to worry about that. Akechi barely moved his head to acknowledge to Akira approaching, but when they made eye contact, Akechi just looked away.

“Oh, why hello, fearless leader,” he said. “What a surprise to see you.”

Akira still wasn’t used to this Akechi. After watching the detective seemingly whiplash from kind, attentive, quick-witted, to malicious and blood thirsty, this newfound dry wit, slight bored at the world personality was just odd.

Either way, his proclamation did the trick - Futaba and Haru all but jumped, turning to face Akira.

“Akira! I thought you were hanging with Sojiro! Testing out coffee recipes!” Fubtaba said. She grinned, but it looked so fake that she would’ve been better to not have even tried.

Was that… annoyance beneath that grin? Akira chanced another glance over to Akechi, but the detective continued to ignore him.

“It’s certainly lovely to see you,” Haru said, smiling softly. But even that smile looked forced. “We just bumped into Akechi, and—“

If the whole situation wasn’t awkward enough, Akechi snorted at that, still looking away. Futaba and Haru exchanged glances and then looked back at Akira.

He’d totally walked into a situation that he was _not_ wanted, to say the least. “Odd… grouping, this,” was all Akira said, nodding towards them.

Futaba rolled her eyes, spreading her arms out. “Look, this is nothing. We just had a few things we wanted to chat with Akechi, and we thought that this place might be a bit too… public to do so. We were going to go to somewhere more private.”

“She means Mementos, if you were too thick to catch that,” Akechi said. He still hadn’t looked back to the group.

Haru smiled again, clasping her hands together. “It’s truly nothing, Akira. Please feel free to join us, but it’ll just be a short little discussion!”

Akira knew when he wasn’t wanted, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. He gave a short nod, tucking his hand into his pockets. “Sounds good. We going now?”

Haru’s smile faltered and she glanced over to Futaba, who then scowled, stuffed her hands into her coat pockets and glared at Akechi. Who wasn’t even looking at them, still glancing off to the side, seemingly inspecting some trees that were just off the Station Square.

“You heard the man! Let’s get on with this!” Futaba exclaimed. “Just hit the app, and let’s go!”

Akechi let out a put-upon sigh, before glancing back at the group. “But of course,” he said, sarcasm lacing every word. He pulled out his phone, tapping around a bit.

Before he pressed down on the app, he looked up, making eye contact with Akira. Akira straightened his posture, unsure what that could mean. He didn’t have much longer to think about it, as the world suddenly fluctuated in and out, signaling their entrance into the Metaverse.

\--

Whenever Akira went into Mementos with a small group, be it Yusuke to discover his art, Futaba to confront her uncle, it was always a weird feeling. It took significantly longer to trek through the creepy subway tunnels without the Morgana-Van, and the absence of the rest of the group's chattering was also sorely missed.

The last time Akira had come here with just Akechi, he had pulled a gun on Akira. But before the gun had _actually_ been aimed at his face, he could tell something was off with the situation, but he couldn't put his finger as to why.

Well, until the gun was pointed at him.

This trip kind felt like a mix of the two. So, really, it wasn’t a surprise when they ended up in a large area of Mementos, lacking any shadows, lacking Jose, hell, even lacking even a _stamp booth_.

Hands stuffed into his pockets of his kick-ass coat, Akira turned to survey the group, only to see Haru staring at Akechi with an intense focus. Futaba was already watching the group from high above in her persona. If an orb of all-known power could have seemed tense, well. Futaba’s Persona Prometheus was certainly giving off that vibe.

Akira glanced between them all, before raising an eyebrow and moving a little closer to Akechi. There was nothing to like about Akechi, besides his sharp wit and biting remarks. And the unfortunate fact that Akechi had only aimed his gun at Akira once instead of twice was only due to the other Phantom Thieves stepping in and changing around the cognition.

That being said, he was the only one without a weapon or an active persona out. Akira wasn’t going to think about it any further about why he moved beyond that.

“What’s going on?” Akira said. He forced a lighter tone that the situation deserved, because the room felt far too tense as it was.

Akechi let out another snort, rolling his eyes as he glanced over to Akira. “Really? You’re that dense to not wonder why this little trio was heading out to Mementos alone?”

Surveying the group again, Akira’s stomach dropped as he realized that the grip Haru had on her axe was a lot tighter than he’d ever seen her have. He took a step forward, raising a hand.

“Wait. Guys, we’re all a team,” he said, glancing between Haru, Akechi, and even glancing up to Futaba, even though he had no idea if she could see him. “We need to figure our way through Maruki’s palace, and then you can… do whatever it is you’re going to do.”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we’re not going to _kill_ Akechi!” Futaba said.

Haru smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course not. We understand his role within the Phantom Thieves. We just…” she hefted her axe onto her shoulder. “We wanted to have a tête-à-tête with him. A chat. A small conversation.”

There was something about this small woman handling a massive axe that made the situation even more terrifying. But, since Akira knew just how scary Haru could be, it somehow made it even worse.

“With weapons,” Akechi drawled. Akira faintly heard the sound of a sword being drawn, which made no sense as Akechi used laser weapons. But when he glanced over, Akechi was holding his sword by his side. “Can’t say they don’t deserve the chance,” he added, half under his breath.

Akira looked between all members of the group, trying to keep his face stoic. “Is there anything I can say that will stop this?” he asked.

Haru’s façade seemed to drop for a moment, and she grit her teeth. “He killed my father,” she said, voice a touch higher than normal. “My father wasn’t a _great_ man, but he didn’t deserve to go the way he did.”

“And he killed my mom,” Futaba said. Her voice didn’t have an ounce of being choked up, instead resembling hard steel. “He wasn’t under anyone’s spell except his own greed. If we’re going to work with him, we decided that this was the only way to keep things civil.”

“So dear leader,” Akechi said, voice losing that bored edge and becoming a smidge more manic. “If you wouldn’t mind stepping off to the side? I’m not going to kill your little friends, but if they so insist on this battle, they will _certainly_ have it.”

Akira didn’t respond for a long moment. A part of him (a larger part than he would ever admit), wanted to move back to Akechi’s side, holding his knives askew. It wasn’t fair to have a two on one battle. Clearly that was the only reason and not because he didn’t want to see Akechi hurt.

But, another part realized that all the Phantom Thieves _had_ been restraining themselves in not commenting too much on Akechi’s involvement, these two most of all. So instead, Akira approached Haru, pausing a few steps in front of her.

“Is this what you really want?” he asked, voice low.

Haru smiled again, looking past Akira. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

With that, Akira moved off to the side.

\--

It wasn’t really a battle – it was a curb stomp.

After a few hits, Akira almost pitied Akechi enough to want to step in and help out, but a part of him feared getting caught in Haru’s axe swings. Every time Akechi tried to turn himself psychotic or to summon Loki, Futaba would swing in with assistance, and Haru would finish it up, throwing an item that would use Bless on him, and then knocking him clean off his feet.

Akira had also _kinda_ noticed that Akechi was only as strong as he seemed to be when they had last fought him in Shido’s palace. He didn’t want to think of the implications as to what that would be – as to why Akechi would stagnant his strength until Maruki’s vision of the world took hold – but when Akechi was knocked to his feet _again_ , Akira ignored what the better part of him was saying, and threw a Bead to heal him.

Akechi let it bounce by his feet, before glancing over to Akira, snarling, “I don’t _need_ your help!”

With a frown, Haru even lowered her axe, the _clang_ it made rippling around the room. “I thought you said you were going to stay out of it,” she said, sounding disappointed.

“This is… sad,” Akira admitted. “But I thought you’d like him healed so you could uh…” he shrugged a tiny bit. “Continue your assault.”

Akechi’s eyes widened and he snatched the healing potion off the ground. There were faint cackles in the air that Akira could only assume were Futaba. And the grin Haru gave him was positively _menacing_.

“Oh. Why – thank you! That’s so very kind of you.” She turned to face Akechi, gripping her axe tighter as he struggled to his feet. “I’m just getting started.”

\--

Was that battle a good use of Beads and Revivadrin?

No.

Did the battle help to foster a camaraderie between Akechi, Futaba, and Haru, so that they would be able to fight better?

Probably not.

If anything, Akechi certainly respected the two women more.

At least, that’s what it sounded like he was mumbling as Haru pummeled him with yet another Psycho Force. After a while, Akechi didn’t get up anymore, even when Akira tossed him a handful of healing items at once. He just lay there, kind of twitching on the ground.

Akira pushed himself off the wall, moving to stand between Haru and Akechi. “Okay, okay, I’m not saying that’s enough, but I think that’s enough _for now_ ,” he said, grabbing the unused items. “Do you feel better?”

Futaba jumped out of her persona and turned to Haru, and they both smiled to each other. Haru was only _slightly_ sweaty, and she beamed, hiking the axe high on her shoulder.

“You know, I think I do,” Haru said, turning to face Futaba. “This was a wonderful decision – thank you!”

Futaba grinned, hands clasped behind her back. “I could see how low leveled he was – what a noob. Trying to fight us both at once. Men!”

Akechi wasn’t really moving, but he was _alive_ , so Akira did the honors. He managed to get Akechi on his back, hands gripped tight under his legs. “Alright, alright. We still have to get out of here, so not too much celebrating yet.”

Haru just continued smiling, her hand gripping the axe.

“We’ll be just fine.”

\--

Getting to the next Rest Station was significantly easier as every single Shadow seemed to sprint out of their way. Once they slipped out of Mementos and back into the cool Tokyo night air, Haru and Futaba bid Akira farewell, chatting as they heading down the station stairs.

“You were _so cool_! Ugh, something about badass women swinging axes--- so awesome!”

“Thank you! I’m glad Akira managed to heal him… I don’t know what I would’ve done if he stayed knocked out for too long… It wouldn’t have been fun at all.”

Akira winced slightly at their discussion, before depositing Akechi onto a bench. He quickly sat on the bench next to him, letting Akechi’s head lull onto his shoulder.

He knew that the detective lived in the Kichijōji area, but Akira had no desire to lug his unconscious body there. People saw strange things on the subway every day, but he wasn’t risking it, even in Maruki’s strange world.

People seemed to not notice them on the bench, chatting as they weaved in and between one another. All the while, Akechi was still out, a firm, calming weight on Akira’s shoulder.

Akira squashed whatever feeling this was making him feel. Because he wasn’t feeling anything. Concern for his teammates, maybe – if he’d realized how far the group was doing to distance themselves from Akechi, maybe he would’ve said something sooner.

Or was Akechi trying to distance himself from them?

It was a little while later, as Akira continued playing games on his phone, that Akechi jumped up, startled. “Where?” He snarled, before realizing where they were.

Akira didn’t look up from his game. “Finally he’s awake – they left a while ago.” After a beat, Akira glanced over, catching Akechi’s eye. “Nice to see you’re not dead.”

“I should’ve realized they had a trick up their sleeves,” Akechi muttered to himself. He winced, rubbing at his head. “I just didn’t realize you were going to assist in the slaughter.”

“You mean, they both honed their skills and you really thought you could take them two-on-one even if you weren't strong enough?” Akira said, clicking off his phone. “Akechi, you’re many things, but you’re not dumb. You knew this was going to happen, did you?”

Akechi froze, hand still tangled up in his hair. “I… will admit, I didn’t think it would be _that_ brutal,” he said, lowering himself against the back of the bench.

Akira lowered his chin onto his hand, waiting.

Akechi sighed. “In battle, our coordination was all off. The Okumura girl wouldn’t even dare touch me when we would do Baton Passes, messing up the whole flow of the attack, and Futaba stopped assisting the group when I was on the front line. We’re going to need to be on our best if we want to stop Maruki.” Akechi rubbed at his head once more, before lowering his hand. “And if I could offer myself up so we could win, well, what’s one small bruise?” He winced again, reaching for his arm. “I had no idea she was so skilled with that axe.”

Akira continued watching him, before turning back to his phone. “Well, I’m not sitting here for you to get better. Because clearly you don’t need me.”

“Obviously,” Akechi said, but there was no heat behind his words.

“I _am_ holding out to go home so I don’t have to listen to Futaba gloat for the next few hours about kicking your ass,” Akira said. He turned his phone back on, continuing to play his game. “So, if you want to sit here with me…”

He trailed off, not really sure how to end the sentence and continued tapping away at his phone. There was a moment, and there he felt a pressure on his shoulder as Akechi lay his head back down.

“Only until I get my bearings. I can’t be seen collapsing on the subway.”

Akira did his best to wrestle the smile off his face.


End file.
